His aid came not necessarily through his quarterback play from 1997-2002, but through election volunteer work in 2000.

The Bidwill family had told the Phoenix metro area that the only way the Cardinals could remain competitive is if it agreed to pay a tax that would fund a new stadium. (Sound familiar, Bronco fans?)

There had been reports that as the November 2000 election approached, Plummer was among a handful of players who knocked on doors seeking the vote.

“That was eight years ago, so knocking on doors might have been added to the story, but I did stand out at the local polling station where I lived and stumped the voters as they were going in,” said Plummer, who was the Broncos’ quarterback from 2003-06. “A few people were, ‘Get away from me, you guys are worthless.’ And some people were, ‘Yeah, I’ll vote for it, right on!’

“It barely passed (51.89 percent of the vote) so there is a sense of accomplishment there for someone who played for the Cardinals in those years. Getting the stadium was like winning the Super Bowl for them at that time. They felt that was the piece that was missing. They held up to their end of their bargain.”

Remembering yesterday and today. Nobody in the real world will feel sorry for an NFL player. Not with the money they make.

But forgive Matt Birk if he feels like he’s been squeezed from all sides during the Super Bowl XLIII hubbub.

Birk is a six-time Pro Bowl center for the Minnesota Vikings, Harvard grad and mentor to Broncos right tackle Ryan Harris.

“Ryan used to work out at my gym,” Birk said, referring to his business investment in the Minneapolis area. “He had a great year for you guys. That’s my boy.”

Lately, it seems everybody has become Birk’s boy. The NFL owners want the current players to give back a percentage of the revenues they’ve gained over the years. Former NFL players want the current players to give them a greater percentage of their benefit package.

As in all management-union tussles, the current players would prefer the owners open their books before determining whether to feel sympathy. But Birk is a rare active player who has stepped up to help the Mike Ditka-run Gridiron Greats foundation that helps former players in financial and medical need.

When Birk sent a letter asking each of the NFL’s 32 player reps for donations to the Gridiron Greats fund, the response was underwhelming.

“Here’s the problem,” Birk said. “When I came into the league in ’98, I was playing with guys who walked the picket lines in ’87. Those players would tell me, ‘Remember what we went through.’ Not that they asked for anything, but just to appreciate what they did to fight for what we have now.”

It really started getting good for NFL players in 1993, the first year of free agency.

“Now, everything for the players has been great for 16 years. There’s not that connection between today’s players and players who went through the lockout of ’87 and the strike of ’82. Plus, you’ve got to realize, 75 percent of today’s players are still insecure. They still have to make the team every single year.”

In other words, it’s tough for 75 percent of the players to give up part of their paycheck when they don’t know if they’ll get another one come September. As for the other 25 percent of the players, let’s just say the response from Birk’s letter was a significantly smaller percentage.

“Regardless of what’s going on, you’ve got to improve the players’ benefit package to where they can carry some medical once they get out of football,” Ditka said. “Because when you’ve been out football eight to 10 years, all the sudden you find out you need a couple major surgeries and if you don’t have any medical insurance, you’ve got to come up with a lot of money.”

McDaniels on McDaniels. Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels hired his younger brother Ben to become part of his first staff at an entry-level position. Ben McDaniels, 28, had coached previously for the University of Minnesota and Ohio high school programs.

“There will be no decision made here that would not be in the best interest of the team,” Josh McDaniels said. “It doesn’t matter if he was my brother or not. If he wasn’t going to be good and fill that role exceptionally well then there’s no way you hire him. This business is too competitive to hire people that don’t help you win. I have no interest in doing that. And that’s why I don’t concern myself worrying about whatever people’s perception is about that.”

Mike Klis was with The Denver Post from Jan. 1, 1998 before leaving in 2015 to join KUSA 9News. He covered the Rockies and Major League Baseball until the 2005 All-Star break, when he was asked to start covering the Broncos.

More in Sports

Broncos general manager John Elway was reminded of the nice weather, of the fun memories he had some 13 miles west in Palo Alto in college and of course the ones he experienced here in Santa Clara back in 2016.

A tangled mess at Coors Field unraveled early Thursday afternoon as rookie right-hander Jeff Hoffman craned his neck to see home run after home run leave the yard. Before the end, it devolved into a dilemma.